First impression: Too Human for Xbox 360
by Adams Briscoe 
{ May 9th 2006 at 10:00PM }
At the Microsoft reception today after their event, the press was given an opportunity to get their hands on some Xbox 360 titles before the show floor opens up. I managed to score some hands-on time with Silicon Knights' Too Human, and so far it looks pretty good.
They didn't go into the story too much, but as fans know, you follow a cybernetic god with some pretty badass abilities. This game is part of a trilogy, so gamers won't be hard pressed for depth when this hits store shelves.
Despite only being about halfway done so far, the build they made available was enough to get a take on the overall mechanics. Two levels were on display which showed off some good environments with even better effects. The two elements that stood out were the main weapons: the sword Fenrir and the staff.
Keeping in tune with the dual goodness was a pair of guns triggered by the shoulder buttons that allows you to brandish at any time and blow away oncoming enemies. Whereas the left analog controls movement, the right analog stick lets you to attack with the sword, throwing your character at the enemy while slicing through the air. This method of play is very important as it enables gamers to sync up combo moves or air juggle with enemies (helpless bodies have never been so fun!).
The more enemies you kill, the more your primary weapon gauge goes up. Once it peaks at a certain level, you can tap a button and initiate a "super move" as they told us (clearly a tentative name). This wasn't totally unlike Dynasty Warriors as the enemies would blindly walk into your raging attack without so much as a second thought. Hopefully Silicon Knights will add some more intuitive baddies with a little more brains before the end.
Keep in mind the game still has a while to go, but so far it looks promising.
Despite only being about halfway done so far, the build they made available was enough to get a take on the overall mechanics. Two levels were on display which showed off some good environments with even better effects. The two elements that stood out were the main weapons: the sword Fenrir and the staff.
Keeping in tune with the dual goodness was a pair of guns triggered by the shoulder buttons that allows you to brandish at any time and blow away oncoming enemies. Whereas the left analog controls movement, the right analog stick lets you to attack with the sword, throwing your character at the enemy while slicing through the air. This method of play is very important as it enables gamers to sync up combo moves or air juggle with enemies (helpless bodies have never been so fun!).
The more enemies you kill, the more your primary weapon gauge goes up. Once it peaks at a certain level, you can tap a button and initiate a "super move" as they told us (clearly a tentative name). This wasn't totally unlike Dynasty Warriors as the enemies would blindly walk into your raging attack without so much as a second thought. Hopefully Silicon Knights will add some more intuitive baddies with a little more brains before the end.
Keep in mind the game still has a while to go, but so far it looks promising.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
funkonaut @ May 9th 2006 10:19PM
Yawn. You didn't mention that the frame rate was around 10fps if that.
Watership @ May 9th 2006 10:34PM
#1.
>Yawn. You didn't mention that the frame rate was around 10fps if that.
The game isn't finished yet. The last thing to be completed in a game is frame rate locking.
Sorry, maybe it's credits. But come on, the game is many months away.
At least it was playable.
Pee Ass 3 @ May 9th 2006 10:46PM
This is going to be THE game to the xbox360, didnt like the Halo3 trailer, very dumb.
Gears of war, looks good, but plays horrible and after a while you get tired of that hide behind car and shoot when enemy reload, Disappointing.
Only Too Human seems to have the potential to be a Good and not just a pretty game, looks like in some ways its gonna be a God of war ripoff, but God of war was no new idea too.
For me the only title that is worth the wait, you can burn Halo3 and gears of war, because with every 360 game being gorgeous, both of them lose their only appeal.
(please god, make MGS4 more than just good graphics, this is a game with huge potential of espionage fun, and I would hate to hate it.)
elmer @ May 9th 2006 11:08PM
I saw a shakey cam video of Too Human a few days ago (I'll admit, not the best source), but I would say that Heavenly Sword already looks far more exciting.
Tourian @ May 9th 2006 11:15PM
This game has been in the making for more than 8 years. Silicon Knights is a bunch of people with good ideas and really bad developers.
Take Eternal Darkness: Great Story, great style, horrible gameplay.
Too Human better be a knockout game, SK is betting it's very best ideas on this franchise.
Pretty Obvious @ May 10th 2006 12:29AM
Eternal Darkness was the best Gamecube title to date, where did it have bad gameplay? In fact you can check up on any review and youll see that the gameplay, spell system and insanity meter where all defining features.
With that said, the same people who did that are doing this one. That alone has me excited about this game.
Phil @ May 10th 2006 12:39AM
Would have been nice to know that the game ran at 10FPS or so. Why give a fat chance to a game, you're reporters, if a game has problems mention them as much as you mention what's great about it.
funkonaut @ May 10th 2006 9:36AM
I must respectfully disagree with Eternal Darkness ever being "the best Gamecube game to date." It was, quite frankly, abysmal. It's no wonder Nintendo didn't fuss about Silicon Knights going to Microsoft's camp.
Rob Stevens @ May 10th 2006 9:59AM
Perhaps because they're being responsible journalists? The game isn't done yet, and you get to see a lot of very early and unfinished games at E3. It's a preview of what they're intending to do, and every developer should be given the benefit of the doubt. If the game is a couple of weeks away from release and it's still playing like that, then it's reasonable to mention it. Until then, it's not fair to the developer, and it's not fair to the readers.
Tony @ May 10th 2006 10:54AM
I don't know how anyone finds ED abysmal. There's some low points, but it is in no way a bad game. Most reviews around the time agreed with that.
Too Human is not done, either way. Its story and other aspects beyond mindlessly hitting things pretty much seperates it from Heavenly Sword instantly.
jason w @ May 10th 2006 11:32AM
Its on live now. Go down load it and see for yourself. At least we get hands on with the 360 games and dont need to take some guys word for it.
jason w @ May 10th 2006 12:35PM
Never mind that was lost planet on live. And its a nice DEMO.
sev4 pri1 @ May 10th 2006 1:10PM
#2 is correct. Frame rates don't get locked till the last few months of development. If you're hitting 20fps during the regular dev/testing cycle you're well on your way.